Mounted police officers, which are the cops who ride horses and pretend to do real police work, are actually becoming useful. In Louisville, new Mobile Data Terminals—similar to what the police have in cars—are being installed onto horses.

The MDT is actually a small Panasonic U-1 computer that lets police officers hit up emergency dispatch and run record checks (traffic history, vehicle registration, etc) while never dismounting their horse. Before, they had to call in to check all that information. I'm thinking an iPhone or small tablet would work even better but hey, go ahead and spend $3,300 on that little computer guys. And enjoy your horses. [Courier Journal]